Smart street lighting can provide the ground for novel and cutting-edge IoT city deployments, besides saving energy and reducing costs. Local governments are inclined toward smart city deployments and growth. According to the SmartAmerica Growth challenge, over the next two decades, local administrations will invest more than US$ 40 trillion in internet-of-things technology for smart cities.
In fact, New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, and Chicago have already invested in smart city programs that focus on community engagement, waste management, and reducing energy costs.
With the ratification of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to make more than US$ 600 billion available for smart city initiatives such as smart traffic sensors, cities must be aware of initial investments that will help other programs progress over time. Smart street lighting is one of the best places to start with that could easily be overlooked.
Smart street lighting might appear to be an aging subject, but it can be the ground for novel and breakthrough IoT city deployments. Here’s how switching on lights can help pave the way for more advanced programs.
Connected lights provide several advantages in terms of helping smart cities to better manage energy use and keep costs low, and improve citizen safety at the same time. Research shows that between 2017 and 2022, the implementation of street light use cases has grown from 61% to 72% and is expected to continue to grow.
With the use of the right technology, cities can leverage the ubiquitous wireless communication infrastructure required to support IoT street lighting initiatives to place a range of other IoT applications such as smart traffic sensors and environmental monitoring.
